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Thehistory of religion is the written record of humanreligious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with theinvention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE).[1] Theprehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. One can also study comparative religious chronology through atimeline of religion, or the interrelationships and historical diversification of religious ideologies through the use of evolutionary philosophy and broad comparativism.[2] Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules.[3]
The concept of "religion" was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries.[4][5] Sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written.[6][7]
The wordreligion as used in the 21st century does not have an obvious pre-colonial translation into non-European languages. The anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson writes that "what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion' is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history".[8]
The school of religious history called theReligionsgeschichtliche Schule, a late 19th-centuryGerman school of thought, originated the systematic study ofreligion as asocio-cultural phenomenon. It depicted religion as evolving with human culture, frompolytheism tomonotheism.
TheReligionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study of theBible and ofchurch history flourished in Germany and elsewhere (seehigher criticism, also called thehistorical-critical method). The study of religion is important: religion and similar concepts have often shaped civilizations' law and moral codes, social structure, art and music.
In order to better understand the origin and current diversity of religious belief systems throughout the world, recent studies have attempted to focus on historical interrelationships and diversification of all major organized religions, applying modern evolutionary philosophy to the comparative analysis of putative ideological groups.[9] These studies take an agnostic, pluralistic approach in the hope of moving beyond chauvinistic cultural tribalism, which is increasingly interfering with our ability to understand "other" cultures and address growing global challenges.
The earliest archeological evidence interpreted by some as suggestive of the emergence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years, to theMiddle andLower Paleolithic periods: some archaeologists conclude that the apparently intentional burial ofarchaic humans,Neanderthals and evenHomo naledi as early as 300,000 years ago is proof that religious ideas already existed, but such a connection is entirely conjectural. Other evidence that some infer as indicative of religious ideas includes symbolic artifacts fromMiddle Stone Age sites in Africa. However, the interpretation of early Paleolithic artifacts, with regard to how they relate to religious ideas, remains controversial.[citation needed] Archeological evidence from more recent periods is less controversial. Scientists[which?] generally interpret a number of artifacts from theUpper Paleolithic (50,000–13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Examples of Upper Paleolithic remains that some associate with religious beliefs include thelion man, theVenus figurines, and the elaborate ritual burial fromSungir.[citation needed]
In the 19th century, researchers proposed various theories regarding the origin of religion, challenging earlier claims of a Christianity-likeurreligion. Early theorists, such asEdward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) andHerbert Spencer (1820–1903), emphasized the concept ofanimism, while archaeologistJohn Lubbock (1834–1913) used the term "fetishism". Meanwhile, the religious scholarMax Müller (1823–1900) theorized that religion began inhedonism and the folkloristWilhelm Mannhardt (1831–1880) suggested that religion began in "naturalism" – by which he meant mythological explanations for natural events.[10][page needed] All of these theories have been widely criticized since then; there is no broad consensus regarding the origin of religion.
Pre-pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)Göbekli Tepe, the oldest potentially religious site yet discovered anywhere[11] includes circles of erected massive T-shaped stone pillars, the world's oldest knownmegaliths[12] decorated withabstract, enigmaticpictograms andcarved-animal reliefs. The site, near the home place of original wild wheat, was built before the so-calledNeolithic Revolution, i.e., the beginning ofagriculture andanimal husbandry around 9000 BCE. But the construction of Göbekli Tepe implies organization of an advanced order not hitherto associated withPaleolithic,PPNA, orPPNB societies. The site, abandoned around the time the first agricultural societies started, is still being excavated and analyzed, and thus might shed light on the significance it had, if any, for the religions of older, foraging communities, as well as for the general history of religions.[citation needed]
ThePyramid Texts from ancient Egypt, the oldest knownreligious texts in the world, date to between 2400 and 2300 BCE.[13][14]
The earliest records ofIndian religion are theVedas, composedc. 1500–1200 BCE during theVedic Period.
Surviving early copies of religious texts include:
Some historians have labelled the period from 900 to 200 BCE as the "axial age", a term coined byGerman-SwissphilosopherKarl Jaspers (1883–1969). According to Jaspers, in this era of history "thespiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently... And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today." Intellectual historianPeter Watson has summarized this period as the foundation time of many of humanity's most influential philosophical traditions, including monotheism inPersia andCanaan,Platonism in Greece,Buddhism andJainism in India, andConfucianism andTaoism in China. These ideas would become institutionalized in time – note for exampleAshoka's role in the spread of Buddhism, or the role ofNeoplatonic philosophy in Christianity at its foundation.
The historical roots of Jainism in India date back to the 9th century BCE with the rise ofParshvanatha and his non-violent philosophy.[16][17][need quotation to verify]
World religions of the present day established themselves throughoutEurasia during theMiddle Ages by:
During the Middle Ages,Muslims came into conflict withZoroastrians during theMuslim conquest of Persia (633–654);Christians fought against Muslims during theArab–Byzantine wars (7th to 11th centuries), theCrusades (1095 onward), theReconquista (718–1492), theOttoman wars in Europe (13th century onwards) and theInquisition;Shamanism was in conflict withBuddhists,Taoists, Muslims and Christians during theMongol invasions and conquests (1206–1337); and Muslims clashed withHindus andSikhs during theMuslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent (8th to 16th centuries).
Many medieval religious movements continued to emphasizemysticism, such as theCathars and related movements in the West, the Jews in Spain (seeZohar), theBhakti movement in India andSufism in Islam.Monotheism and related mysticisms reached definite forms in ChristianChristology and in IslamicTawhid.Hindu monotheist notions ofBrahman likewise reached their classical form with the teaching ofAdi Shankara (788–820).
From the 15th century to the 19th century, Europeancolonisation resulted in the spread of Christianity toSub-Saharan Africa, and theAmericas,Australia and thePhilippines. The invention of theprinting press in the 15th century played a major role in the rapid spread of theProtestant Reformation under leaders such asMartin Luther (1483–1546) andJohn Calvin (1509–1564).Wars of religion broke out, culminating in theThirty Years' War which ravagedCentral Europe between 1618 and 1648. The 18th century saw the beginning ofsecularisation in Europe, a trend which gained momentum after theFrench Revolution broke out in 1789. By the late 20th century, religion had declined in most of Europe.[18]
Although the Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians, and many other peoples have long histories, the stories of their respective religions are of recent pedigree. The formation of ancient religions as objects of study coincided with the formation of religion itself as a concept of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
That there exist in the world such entities as 'the religions' is an uncontroversial claim...However, it was not always so. The concepts 'religion' and 'the religions', as we presently understand them, emerged quite late in Western thought, during the Enlightenment. Between them, these two notions provided a new framework for classifying particular aspects of human life.
Many languages do not even have a word equivalent to our word 'religion'; nor is such a word found in either the Bible or the Qur'an.
The Dead Sea Scrolls include more than 225 'biblical' manuscripts [...]. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions [...] almost all these manuscripts are in fragmentary form. Parts of every book of the Jewish and Protestant Old Testament are included, with the exception of Esther and Nehemiah.
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